Consultation and the Management of Consent: Standards for Qualified Teacher Status

Abstract

ABSTRACT Since its inception in 1994, the TTA has relied heavily upon the process of consultation as its ‘preferred’ style of operation. In recent analyses of the state of democracy in England the quality of consultation has been used as one indicator of the democratic state of the nation. Against this background we present our findings from an in‐depth study of the processes and procedures used to develop the Standards for the Award of Qualified Teacher Status, paying particular attention to the consultation exercise undertaken by the Teacher Training Agency in the Spring of 1997. We argue that, on a number of levels, our findings raise issues that mirror those being expressed by others concerned about the state of democracy in England.